Strider

Well it’s the final day in March and the Louisville Cardinals compete against the Kentucky Wildcats tonight at 6:09 pm ET. Best wishes to both teams and although I’m not rooting for a specific team, I do think it would be cool to see the Cards pull the obvious victory away from the Wildcats.

I heard a funny saying today while we were at the Easter egg hunt:

What kind of seeds to Cardinal birds eat? #1 seeds!

Any who, it’s been a good week. Caleb and Aimee are doing well; Aimee scored some great #’s on her tests & speech this week. In just over a week from now they’ll be on their way to the beach with Aunt Lynda and cousin Austin during spring break while I hold down the fort.

The pictures below are from March. A couple of weeks ago, we went on a walk/run while Caleb rode his Strider and a portion of the way back I found myself in a full-on sprint while Caleb coasted down a steep hill at approximately 8-10 MPH (let’s not ask this girl how far he would’ve gone in an hour, m-kay). It was so exciting to see him with his feet locked in place and his game face on as he charged down this hill on a slightly curved road. When we got to the bottom he told me he had a lot of fun. He’s such a thrill seeker!

There’s also a few pictures of our trip today to Grace Heartland Church, where we participated in an Easter egg hunt with a bunch of other kiddos and parents. Caleb was a little nervous at first, mostly because the music in the gym was so loud and there were lots of people. He had a really fun time and there were tons of eggs for all the kids. Thanks Grace Heartland Church!

On the way home we passed a local restaurant where several nice Corvettes were parked out front. Since I had the camera with us, we swung back around to snap a few shots before we made it to the house. Enjoy and Happy Easter!

Oh and on a side note, my younger sister Rebecca is having contractions and may be headed to the hospital today for delivery! Congrats Garcia family!

Last week was filled with excitement as we prepared for our trip to Red River Gorge on Friday. Aimee and I texted back and forth throughout the week about how quickly our trip was coming up and that we couldn’t wait to get away for a bit. I had Friday off, thanks to all you Veterans out there, so we headed out the door shortly after Aimee made it home from her morning class. The drive was a little over 2 hours and Caleb was a happy traveler like always. We stopped for some lunch and then got back on the road.

Once we arrived in the Red River Gorge area, we met up with Phil and his 2 daughters; Erin and Alise to explore into the Daniel Boone National Forest where Aimee visited in her childhood. The entrance to the forest required us to drive through the Nada Tunnel, a hole carved through solid rock only wide enough for one lane of traffic at a time. After a short hike to a suspension bridge we met up with the Mills Family and checked into our housing for the next couple nights, a large 3 bedroom log cabin.

The cabin was everything I expected and more! Big rooms, a game room with a pool table, big wrap-around deck with a hot tub on it, fire pit out back, a kitchen full of amenities, the works… When we weren’t out hiking we were enjoying a comfortable stay in our cabin with friends. Art and Phil are a couple of my cigar buddies so we had our own little Fumadores Cigar Club hangout and broke out the corn hold boards the cabin owners provided. The deck was so large Caleb was able to ride his Strider up and down it.

Caleb had fun playing and chasing the other kids all weekend. Thanks to Ethan, Maya, Alise, and Erin for being so entertaining to him!

Hiking was amazing. We visited several points of interest; Sky Bridge, Angel’s Windows, Natural Bridge, and Chimney Rock. The two bridges were made of large rocks with the bottom middle missing to form a bridge and both trails took us over and around the bridges putting in perspective how high we were.

The weather was perfect in my opinion. It got a bit chilly at night and the wind blew constantly while we were there, but it was nothing to complain about. Thanks to everyone that went with us and we hope to do it again sometime.

Here’s the full slideshow from our camera and be sure to check out Lauren’s pics on Facebook too.

A little over a week ago I took Caleb to stride the trails Daddy rides his mountain bike on with his buddies and below are some pictures and video of his experience. Caleb had a very fun time and I enjoyed watching him climb and coast the hills as well as break for a snack and investigate a stream.

We arrived at the parking lot. Helmet… Check, Strider Prebike… Check, Excited Strider Rider… Check! We headed down the trail which migrates from a gravel top to dirt with a few sturdy wooden bridges throughout the ride. After we stopped for a snack, I did have to carry him and his gear at one point, but he remembered we were there to ride and requested to do so after a quick break on my shoulders. He played with some rocks, leaves, and got to wave at a bunch of ducks before we headed home. Round trip for us was just under 3 miles.

Caleb’s Strider is one of my favorite tools we have bought him to date. It is so rewarding to watch him ride and I love hearing him request to ride his bike.

Halloween is coming to a close for the MeddersNation, but I have to say we had a wonderful time and it was exciting to watch Caleb pridefully glide around on his Strider balance bike in his Evel Knievel costume that Aimee and I had the pleasure of putting together.

Festivities officially started on the 16th when we went to Bernheim Forest for Colorfest with the FirquinNation and then a little over a week ago Caleb visited a farm down the road from our house called Wooden Farms to pick out some pumpkins and gourds. This past Saturday, we attended the 2nd Annual Barzee Pumpkin Carving Party at John and Beth’s house followed by Trunk or Treat at Allen and Beth’s church on Sunday. The parking lot was blocked off, trunks were decorated, and flash mob dancing was in full effect. Caleb wore his M and M costume for this event and his day care party on Monday.

Halloween night: Daddy rushed home from work a half an hour early to help get Caleb ready, then we headed out the door to catch up with the rest of the gang, and to tear up the streets! Caleb rode his Strider practically the entire time we were trick or treating; only showing fatigue with about a block and half to go. He climbed up hills, through the grass, and up stairs to get candy from happy greeters. He said the magic words, “Trick or treat” and kindly said, “Thank you” after receiving treats. Riding his Strider and sporting that awesome Evel Knievel costume drew a lot of attention from kids and parents alike as he strode from door to door. Most of the time, he just wanted to ride down the sidewalk and we had to remind him to, “Follow your cousins” so he would make the sharp rights towards candy-giver’s doors. Aimee had such a great idea and I’m thankful we were able to compile it into a costume he was comfortable wearing. Great job Aimee! What will you come up with next year?

Thanks to all the family we walked along with tonight! We know that Caleb absolutely loves being around his cousins and it is times like this we cherish most of all.

The weather this weekend couldn’t have been any better for a camping adventure in October. I left work an hour early, packed up the Vera Cruz and headed to Otter Creek, which is a few miles on the other side of Fort Knox, with Aimee and Caleb. This was Caleb’s first time camping and although he sounded anxious when he repeated, “We’re going camping!” He really had no idea what he was in for. We met up at the camp site with our friends Art and Lauren who had their 2 kids Ethan and Maya with them and were later joined by another friend, Phil. Caleb enjoyed running around with Ethan and Maya and throwing sticks in the fire. When it neared his bedtime he told us he wanted to go home and although he let out a short cry when we laid him down he slept perfectly in our tent.

Our nighttime activities included eating brats and hot dogs, apple pie moonshine, cigars, roasted marshmallows, sitting by the fire, and a trip to a haunted forest. The next day Aimee whipped up some excellent breakfast burritos followed by a stroll around the camp site on the Strider. Later another friend and her kids joined us for some fun in the stream and a hike on the nature trails which are perfect for walkers, mountain bikers, and horse back riding. A little while after we made it out of the woods from the hike we headed home and relaxed.

Caleb did very well and I’m sure the next time we say, “We’re going camping” he will know exactly what we are talking about.

Below is a slideshow of our trip, a video of Caleb by the fire, and a still shot of a spider Lauren found looking for a place to have some lunch!